"Back to the USSR" (working title - "Born in the USSR") is a Russian 4-episode 2010 film. Director - Valery Rozhnov, performers of the main roles - Marat Basharov and Karina Andolenko.
So, the plot of the film is uncomplicated and similar to "The Kholop". The main character Anton got confused in life, complains to a friend about the lack of joy and happiness, and he, wanting to help, "sends" him to the past (he turns to a person who can organize this wonderful performance).
Falling into the past, Anton first, naturally, experiences a shock, then gradually comes to terms with his own fate, falling into various troubles, and at the end of the film he does not even mind staying here forever. He falls in love, gets a good position and status, is engaged in social and social activities, but still soon returns back to the "future".
At first glance, there is nothing criminal in the film, but let's take a closer look at the key messages of the story shown:
Cultural image of people and country
Promotional video:
From the very beginning of the film, the main character is shown as a chronic alcoholic who, out of despair and on the advice of a friend, enters the society of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Having met "Stalker" (he will "send" the hero to the past), Anton talks to him over a glass of vodka. Getting in the past, in the USSR, the main character first of all stumbles upon street hooligans (in other episodes of the film they are also shown as alcoholics constantly drinking in the company), to whom Anton is forced to give expensive watches and clothes.
When the hero is taken to a psychiatric hospital, then, wanting to escape, he easily gets the doctors drunk and almost realizes his plan, but due to his own strong intoxication, he leaves no further than the hospital yard, where he spends the night under a tree. When the hero is transferred to another hospital, with a stricter regime, on the way there, in the car, he again easily leads the doctors around his finger, luring them with drinks to the local store, from where he escapes through the back door.
It is worth mentioning the doctors separately: they are shown as stupid, naive people with a strong alcohol addiction, who are happy to agree to any adventure for a bottle. In addition, the film shows how the first party secretary drinks after a conversation with Anton.
Belief in a bright future
People who believe in communism (in particular, Natasha and her fiancé Victor) are shown to be stupid and naive. Anton often makes fun of them, proud of the fact that he already knows how events will unfold. He more than once notes with arrogance that in the future the USSR will disappear from the world map.
The deep moral component of the Soviet person is not shown, it is not clear why people believe in communism, it seems that they believe in some kind of children's fairy tale.
Anton is often surprised at their state of affairs: there is no cola or dirol in the store, no TV ads, no mobile, etc. The rest of the characters, with an absent-minded look, throw up their hands, saying that everything is as usual with them, which makes them even feel sorry for them. The topic of scarce products is heard more than once, which gives the impression that life is not easy for people. The topic of imported things is often touched upon as worthy and beautiful as opposed to Soviet ones.
Woman image
A Soviet woman is shown in the film from an extremely negative side. Natasha, the girl Anton lives with, at first looks sweet, sympathetic and decent. She has a brother, father and fiancé Victor. But soon she easily loses the last quality. Natasha easily kisses Anton on the street on his initiative, without even giving him a slap in the face, but taking this behavior for granted.
Then she continues to pay attention to him, and this is mutual, as a result, the heroes find themselves in bed more than once. Natasha perceives everything as a normal state of affairs, she does not demand any relationship, marriage, or anything else from Anton. Anton himself does not start such a topic, frankly admitting the fact that "in the future" he already has a girlfriend. Natasha is having a good time with Anton, while at the same time meeting with her fiancé, whom she did not reject and who, it seems, is not aware that she and Anton have not had friendly relations for a long time. Thus, she "works on two fronts", rushing from Victor to Anton and back, and does not see anything shameful in this.
Another heroine, the saleswoman Valentina, is also shown not from the best side. She is a single woman with obvious problems in her personal life. Seeing Anton for the first time in her store, she behaves vulgarly and immediately hints at an intimate meeting. Subsequently, she continued this line of behavior, talking about how she dreams of going to heaven on earth.
Social sphere
The film shows that people in 1975 live hard. There is a telephone only in a machine on the street and in a shop with a saleswoman. Many food items are in short supply. In the store, Valentina from the staff, she is alone. She does the work of a saleswoman, a cleaning lady, and she does not even have a loader, which is why the heroine always agrees to Anton's help.
The loader, with whom Anton works together, admits that he is an architect by education, and is forced to work here. He openly expresses his hatred of the USSR, saying that there is an "eternal subbotnik" in the country, that is, all farm laborers for a penny, even with a good education. Upon learning that Anton wants to leave, the loader is eager to leave with him.
The moral character of the protagonist
The film begins with how bad life is for the main character, Anton. Let me remind you that he is a “new Russian”, a rich businessman, without a family, but with chronic alcoholism. Stalker, wanting to shake the hero at the request of his friend Anton, sends him to the past. In theory, in the past, Anton must undergo fundamental changes: he must change his outlook on his own life, do the inner work of analyzing himself as a person. But what do we see in the end?
Once in the past, Anton behaves very aggressively, constantly gets into trouble, saying that he is not even afraid of death. He acts rudely and impulsively. His only desire is to leave the USSR as soon as possible, to return to the future. Anton does not strive for constructive activity - he, for example, does not want to immediately get a job in order to somehow thank the people who took him in. He lives with them, taking advantage of all the benefits, not forgetting to have an affair with Natasha, knowing that she has a fiancé. At the slightest difficulty in relations with Natasha, Anton seeks to leave, to run away (and, for example, not to take a step towards, not to decide somehow in life to start a family, etc.). He runs away to the saleswoman Valentina, who helps him find at least some housing and work.
All this time Anton continues to periodically drink, fight and rush from trouble to trouble. But by a happy coincidence, he suddenly takes a good position, becomes an honorary and respected citizen of the city and is already gathering volunteers to go to the construction of the BAM. It was a happy coincidence that Natasha's father gave Anton to his son, and since the father received the post of second secretary, attention was added to Anton, as the son of a worthy person. However, he did nothing in order to deserve a good position. As a result, one gets the impression that the parasites are the luckiest of all, and in order to achieve success, it is enough just to have a status relative.
After the first secretary of the party expresses his respect to Anton, he suddenly becomes imbued with the spirit of communism and from a cattle alcoholic instantly turns into a leader of a popular movement, engages in social activities and does not even want to leave anywhere. True, his happiness does not last long, and soon he again receives a blow to the head in a fight, after which he returns to the future.
What useful things did Anton learn from this unusual trip? It seems almost nothing. He drinks with Stalker, admitting, however, that he began to drink a little less. The social experience that he received as the leader of a popular movement was not useful to him (at least, this is not reflected in the film). The only thing that Anton found was his beloved Natasha. He found her, and in the final scene, both heroes kiss at dusk. This is where the film ends.
So the conclusions
The film "Back to the USSR", subtly playing up the details, seeks to show the viewer the Land of the Soviets as a backward state. People allegedly have a very difficult life: there are shortages, alcoholics, and lack of normal work. Soviet women are loose and frivolous.
The only plus, about which Natasha's heroine speaks: “There are no homeless people in our city,” despite the fact that Anton himself at first looks like a homeless person. The film repeatedly shows scenes with alcohol, sex, fights.
Author: Elena Petrovykh
